Callie placed Ailene into her stroller and went walking through town. Somehow, she found herself outside the Islander General Store. She looked up and shrugged. "How about some shopping, Ailene?" She parked the stroller and gathered the baby into her arms, walking up the steps. The bell tinkled as she pushed open the door and Ailene giggled at the sound.

"Callie!" Ruby and Bonita exclaimed almost as one. Mother and daughter glared at each other for a second, then, sharing a silent communication, the mother continued.

"How's Daniel?" Ruby asked, her concern obvious in her voice.

"Oh, he's fine! He's doing much better." Callie bounced Ailene up and down. She really hated thinking up stories to tell about Daniel and his collapse, but she couldn't tell the truth. "Doctor Watson said he's been working too hard and he missed eating." She shrugged. Fortunately, that seemed to be enough for the Vasquezes.

"Oh, I knew he was going to get in trouble one day as empty as his kitchen always is," Ruby fussed about their absent minister.

Bonita sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm glad he's all right. He gave everyone quite a scare." She smiled as she looked at the happy bundle in Callie's arms. "And who is this?"

"This is Ailene," Callie answered, grateful to be on another subject. "Her mother, Christie, and she are visiting me for the holidays."

"How wonderful," Ruby exclaimed. "Will you need some baby food? How old is she?"

Callie blinked at the question, just a bit surprised. Well, okay, Christie probably hadn't brought a lot of food for Ailene, but... How old was she and what did she like? Maybe she should bring Christie to the store to get some supplies. "I don't know," Callie answered truthfully, "a year at least, probably older... I don't think she's two yet." She eyed the baby in her arms uncertainly. What did she really know about babies? Not a whole heap of a lot! "I'll bring Christie by later and we'll pick up something then."

"All right," Bonita responded and turned back to the accounts she was working on. Ruby went back to checking stock, leaving Callie alone to peruse the shelves with Ailene. Like all babies, when something caught her eye, Ailene made a grab for it. Callie would smile and gently extract the item from her grip. Fortunately, she didn't reach for anything really heavy or breakable. Callie wasn't really looking for anything in particular, she was just killing time, giving Christie and Daniel some privacy. She did decide to buy a bag of Christmas Kisses that Ailene snagged, knowing how much Daniel enjoyed chocolate and usually wouldn't get it for himself. She started for the register, but paused again as the hot chocolate mixes caught her eye. Daniel always felt the cold. He usually drank coffee, but... Hot chocolate seemed so warm and comforting and... She picked up a canister and read the directions, looking for one that used milk, not water. Milk would probably be good for him. She read several and was very disappointed by the results. Sighing, she picked up the last brand without much hope. Her face brightened as she read the directions - milk! This one was more expensive than the others, but it would be worth it. Happy, she took her choices to the front and paid Bonita for them.

"There you go, Callie, Ailene." Bonita smiled as she placed the items into a sack.

"Thanks, Bonita, bye. Good-bye, Ruby!" Callie answered. "Say 'bye, Ailene. Can you say bye-bye?" She kissed the baby's cheek and felt rewarded when Ailene flapped one arm up and down in a sort of wave. "Good girl, bye bye!" Ailene flapped her arm again and gurgled happily.
 

Angie sighed, feeling safe and warm in Rollie's arms. They felt so strong and real. Once upon a time, she had dreamed of this moment. Then that dream had died with Rollie Tyler. Now, here, he was real again. It felt too good to be true. It felt like a dream and she never wanted to wake up. She didn't want to find that she was alone with Ailene in their small home, that Rollie or, to be accurate now, Daniel was a dream formed by a lonely heart. She felt torn between the peace of Rollie's embrace and the nightmare of the events that had lead to this moment. As if he knew what she was thinking, Rollie pulled her closer, burying his face in her hair. She felt him take a deep breath and release it. He pulled her up and moved his face to her neck. Softly, like the touch of a feather, he kissed the tender spot between collar bone and neck. She shivered at the feeling that filled her. Another soft kiss moved up her neck. Unable to stand it, she sank her fingers into his hair and pulled him up, capturing his lips with her own. They kissed eagerly, deeply. She felt like they could do this for eternity, but the awareness of the salt on Rollie's lips brought her back to reality. Rollie was crying again. Why? She didn't want him to cry. She wanted to hear him laugh!

Memories of the article about their funeral returned. Was that why he was crying? The thought that she should say something tickled in the back of her mind as she kissed away the tears from his cheeks. What was she supposed to say? What could she say?!? She knew the same pain, but somehow felt as if Rollie felt it more deeply. Or... More freshly? Rollie hadn't been given the time to come to terms with his 'death'. He'd been hurt and full of pain. By the time he might have been able to make peace with himself, they had stolen his memories, his very self! This was a pain she could never understand! It went beyond any comprehension. What could she say to comfort in the face of such a thing? It was unreal, unbelievable and Rollie Tyler had lived it, was living it. What could she say?

Angie remembered her conversation with Callie as she kissed his closed eyelids. She was suppose to do something... What? Oh! She remembered as the realization of how much Rollie's life had meant, of how much his courage and generosity had affected the ones who had been... blessed with his aid. She remembered - she had an apology to make! She kissed his ear and whispered softly. "I'm sorry."

Rollie shivered at the feeling of fire that burned away his tears. Angie's kisses moved over his face, removing the tears, easing the pain. He held his breath as she kissed his ear, then felt an explosion as her words breathed gentle warmth into its depths. What? What had she said? Sorry? Why?! "What?" Rollie mumbled around the fire that danced on his nerves, sending tingles of excitement through his body. "Why?" He pulled away and looked at her with puzzled eyes, trying to force the fire back into a quiet, slow burn and away from the rising inferno.

Angie looked down to where her hands touched his arms. She squeezed them and looked up. "I never understood before. I--I said you were playing Batman and you weren't. You were helping people who needed it. You weren't looking for a thrill or... or dancing on the edge. You were helping! I'm sorry I didn't see that before. I'm sorry for what I said."

Rollie gently touched her hair, pushing it back from her beloved face. "It's alright." He leaned forward to taste her lips again. "I forgive you," just as his lips touched hers, they curved into a wicked grin, "Batwoman." She struggled for a moment to protest the tease, then leaned forward into the kiss. Liquid fire poured through their veins. Life and love filled their beings.

Callie returned to the clinic to find a battle of wills going on. She looked on as Daniel and Doctor Watson were locked in a staring match. She glanced at Christie and mutely asked her question. Christie shrugged and whispered softly as she collected Ailene into her arms. "Daniel wants to go home." Comprehension filled the journalist's face. All right, she could understand that and she could see that Doctor Watson didn't quite agree. She looked over the combatants and found herself feeling sorry for the doctor. She didn't stand a chance!

Surprisingly, it was Daniel who withdrew from the field, yielding to the doctor. "All right, but I have to get home early tomorrow morning. I need to go over my sermon again." He looked up at his opponent with appealing brown eyes.

"I'll drive you home at eight. All right?" Doctor Watson asked.

Daniel nodded. Doctor Watson, pleased by her success, left to see about other duties. Callie and Christie looked after her in quiet wonder, then turned to the man. "What?" he asked, bemused by their expressions of surprise, "Don't you think I know when to listen to medical advice?" A twinkle appeared in his warm eyes. "Besides, it made her feel better."

Callie and Christie looked at each other, growing comprehension appearing in their eyes. Doctor Watson had felt like she had no control with Daniel's latest 'mishap'. His 'illness' was outside of her training and experience. By setting up the confrontation, the patient had given the doctor back some measure of control and confidence. They stared at Daniel with admiration and he ducked his head, a faint blush putting color back into his cheeks. Christie leaned over and placed a kiss on Daniel's cheek. "You make a good minister."

"Why, thank you, dear lady. I appreciate your approval." The response was cheeky and a bit sarcastic.

Callie laughed as Christie dropped a very brief curtsey. "Here, Ailene and I brought this for you." She placed the sack into his lap.

Daniel eyed the sack warily as if it might blow up when he opened it. He looked up at Callie and found her gaze innocent and expectant. He opened the bag and smiled brightly at the candy and drink mix. "You didn't have to do this, Callie."

"Nonsense," Callie answered, "we wanted to do it. Enjoy, but don't make yourself sick, eh?"

Daniel nodded agreeably as he opened the bag of Kisses and passed them around. Soon all of them were sucking on a bit of chocolate, melting it in their mouths. "Thank you, Callie, Ailene. I appreciate the thought." His smile was reward enough for the money spent, Callie thought.

Christie cleaned the chocolate from around her daughter's mouth. She shouldn't have let Daniel give it to her, but... She found she couldn't deny Daniel any more than she could Ailene. She worried about that sometimes, that she was spoiling her. She didn't want to spoil Ailene, but she loved her so very, very much! Memories filled her mind of her father and the way he'd treated her, especially after they received word of her mother's death. Well, it seemed she had turned out all right, in spite of some heavy duty spoiling from Manny and, later, Rollie. Hopefully, Ailene would be as well.

Daniel, his visitors and Doctor Watson shared a quiet, delicious meal delivered from the Widow's Walk by Boris. The Russian had returned to his chef duties, confident that his friend, Daniel Cooper, was doing much better and continued to improve. The minister passed out another round of Kisses, then it was time for his visitors to leave. Daniel smiled brightly, extracting a promise from Christie for her and Ailene to attend church in the morning. His smile disappeared after they left and Doctor Watson found herself looking at an unhappy and lonely man.

"Daniel?"

"Hmm?" Daniel shifted in his bed and looked at his hands.

"Can I get you anything?"

A poetry book. "A Bible?" Daniel looked at her hopefully.

"All right." She went and found one. Handing it to him, she admonished. "Don't stay up too late."

"I won't. I promise!"

"All right. Good night, Daniel."

"Good night, Doctor Watson."

The doctor left, cutting off the overhead lights at the door. It left Daniel in a pool of light from the bed lamp. She closed the door on the sight of the reverend bowed over the Bible, reading it intently. "Sweet dreams, Rollie Tyler," she whispered softly to herself, praying he would have a peaceful night. She gave herself a shake. If something happened, he could summon her easily with just a push of a button. Daniel was going to be fine.

She turned on the television, absently listening to the news as she went about her evening routine.

"In the news tonight, a failed assassination attempt on a major business figure in Washington, D.C.. Walter Lowery, the owner and C.E.O. of Quantum Effectual, narrowly escaped death after meeting with the President and leaders of Congress at the White House on improving living conditions in some of the poorest parts of Africa. Original reports that the assassin was his personal assistant, John Miller, was disproved after F.B.I. agents found him dead in his hotel room. Reports indicate that he died at least 2 hours before the attempt."

Doctor Watson turned on the shower, drowning the sound of the television in the water. She really didn't want to listen to more bad news today. She'd find out what happened later.

Later that night, as Hope slept peacefully, a sleek cabin cruiser bumped up against one of the docks. Silently, a ladder was lowered. Men in dark suits spread out, looking sharply for any movement, any signs that someone might see them. Two men guided another man down the ladder and into the town of Hope. He moved awkwardly, stumbling as he tried to go blindly where he was guided. A sliver of moonlight touched the dark hair and the blindfold that covered his eyes, the gleam of cuffs was seen then vanished. They guided the tall, thin man up the hill, toward the little church sitting peacefully on the peak.